As soon as today’s proceedings of the House started this morning, BJP MLA from Udhampur East R.S. Pathania on Monday informed Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather that BJP MLAs had served a notice seeking his removal from the post of Speaker.
Pathania conveyed the party’s move during the proceedings of the Assembly and placed the notice before the Speaker.
The development comes amid continuing political differences between the BJP and the ruling benches over the conduct of proceedings in the House.
The notice seeks the removal of Abdul Rahim Rather from the post of Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. Further proceedings on the notice will be governed by the rules and procedures of the House.
The notice was served under Section 19(2)(c) of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, read with Rule 215 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the J&K Legislative Assembly, to move a resolution for the removal of the Speaker.
“That this House, having regard to repeated departures from the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, established parliamentary precedents, and mandatory constitutional limitations in the conduct of proceedings; and having regard to the consequent loss of confidence in the impartial discharge of the constitutional responsibilities of the Chair, hereby resolves, as per powers vested under Section 19(2)(c) of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, read with Rule 215 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the J&K Legislative Assembly, to declare Abdul Rahim Rather as removed from the office of the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly,” the notice moved by Pathania reads.
The notice, signed by 26 BJP MLAs, stated that the motion was necessitated by sustained breaches of constitutional and procedural discipline by the Chair.
“The Speaker has permitted the House to entertain and repeatedly deliberate upon matters that seek, directly or indirectly, to revisit, alter or question constitutional questions already authoritatively determined by the Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution,” Pathania said.
He further stated that the Chair had thereby permitted proceedings that disregarded the binding constitutional framework and sought to urge Parliament to undertake action contrary to, or inconsistent with, the settled constitutional position and its legislative ambit.
The BJP MLA further alleged that the Speaker had repeatedly permitted matters to be taken up in disregard of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, established parliamentary practices, precedents and conventions.
“Matters which are presently sub judice and barred from consideration/discussion/admission are being brazenly allowed to be tabled and listed in business,” he said, adding, “Such conduct undermines orderly parliamentary procedure and risks converting the House from a forum for constitutionally permissible legislative discourse into an arena for political posturing and partisan advocacy.”
“The repeated and selective exercise of the powers of the Chair raises a serious and legitimate question regarding the Speaker’s impartiality, consistency and institutional neutrality,” the BJP MLA further stated, adding, “Repeated departures from these principles undermine confidence in the Hon’ble Speaker as the custodian of the dignity, Rules and constitutional propriety of the Assembly.”
Pathania urged that, upon receipt of the notice, and in accordance with Section 20 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, read with Rule 216, established practices and precedents, and the settled legal position, the Speaker should not preside over any sitting of the Assembly while the resolution for his removal is under consideration.